A Sunless Dream

A silent thud was drowned out by the bustling activity that radiated the ivory tower. Cassie had just fallen to her knees with her face going ghostly pale as she reminisced the events that had just taken place.

Although Nephis didn't know it, Cassie had been looking through the world using her eyes to analyse what she would do next after their discussion. The results had been...horrific. She didn't expect all the pent-up rage and stress she knew Nephis had within her to be released all at once and released upon her boyfriend no less.

Cassie was disgusted. She felt guilty for pushing Nephis to interacting with Sunny once more, she felt disgusted at Nephis that she would lose control like she did. Cassie's mind was thrown into turmoil as she broke down and cried into her pillow, taking off her blindfold to make sure there were no traces of her breakdown after she was done.

She threw herself at her bed, sobbing silently. For the first time in her life, Cassie was utterly clueless how to proceed. If she asked her friends, Nephis risked excommunication from the group as well as losing all the allies she had suffered so much to create. There was nobody to turn to, nobody to ask.

A low chuckle reverberated through Cassie's brain as she turned around towards the source of the laughter. Although she couldn't see it, the twisted and warped face of her reflection was staring at her through the window. Recognizing the laughter, Cassie's lips curled into a vile snarl as she spat with venom.

"Mordret. What do you want?" Cassie knew she was there; she just didn't know where the reflection was coming from. Due to her flaw granting her blindness, it served as both a blessing and a curse when it came to dealing with the monster of mirrors to which she was speaking.

Slowly, the laughter came to a halt as Mordret replied "I see that there is a little bit of trouble in paradise, I wonder how Sunny would react if he heard the news. Or even better, Kai" his words instantly killed the retort of 'Sunny would never believe you' that she was about to utter. If he showed his face before Kai, he would be able to discern that Mordret was speaking the truth and all which she had feared would come to fruition.

Cassie's heart fell to her stomach as she tried to put on a face of indifference "You wouldn't, if you wanted to then you already would have. You want something from me" she ended her statement while narrowing her eyes at the direction of the sound, Mordret raised his hands in the air with a faux surprised expression.

"Oh! You caught me, I do want something. I want you to help me-"

After some time, Sunny woke up in the guest room of his bed. He had forgotten why he had been there especially since he was laying with Nephis a few hours ago, although he wanted to brush it off his eyes narrowed as he slowly raised himself from his bed going to look for his girlfriend.

He quickly found Nephis in his room, laying there asleep with her back facing him. 'She must have wanted to sleep alone' Sunny thought to himself and smiled, he made his way over to Nephis and laid a kiss on her forehead which stirred her from her slumber.

"Sunny?" She called quietly, he nodded in response and gently raised her from bed "We need to start training, lets take a shower and get ready" Sunny called. He wasn't trying to be forceful however he understood the severity of the situation they were in.

Sunny needed to take down Orion, not only to enact vengeance on the suffering he had caused Nephis but also to ensure he didn't go about the dream realm and involve himself with Ki Song. Doing so would rush things, with an entity like him on Song's side the war would start early as his presence on the battlefield was akin to another sovereign.

Nephis quickly stirred from her sleep before making her way to the shower, but before she did so she enveloped him with a hug resting her chin upon his forehead. Sunny internally laughed at the height difference before being pulled out of his thoughts "I'm sorry for causing you so much pain" Nephis quietly said.

Sunny pulled back from her gently and looked her in the eyes, grabbing her neck gently he pulled her in and kissed her once more. "I chose to follow you; I could have killed you a long time ago, but I didn't. Any pain you caused me is as much of my fault as it is yours" he replied gently.

Nephis nodded slightly before fully making her way to the shower, closing the door behind her without another word. Since there were two showers in the house, Sunny made his way to the guest room and showered there.

As the boiling hot water flowed down his skin, Sunny thought back to the last time someone had abruptly apologised to him. Cassie in the forgotten shore. His face grimaced at the memory before shaking his head to dismiss such a thought.

Nephis wasn't like that.

In the Song domain, Revel laid in her bed with Orion's head on her thighs. He was idly staring at the ceiling as he found solace in her running her hand gently through his hair. Abruptly, Revel ended the silence by asking "Would you want to meet my family?"

Orion's posture didn't even shift slightly, he continued to look at the ceiling before replying "I have heard it is customary to introduce the man you shall marry to your family. I would love to" a small smile cracked his face as he watched Revel go slightly red in embarrassment.

"Well, my mother doesn't really know who you are, neither do any of my sisters. Introducing you to them means we can see each other more freely without looking over our shoulders" she paused for a second, studying his expression however it remained as unreadable as always. "What did you think of Moonveil?"

Orion's eyes became more focused as he replied to her "She's very...protective of you. Throughout our conversation she was attempting to listen in quite keenly, I like that about her." Revel smiled at him causing him to mirror one in response.

Suddenly, she placed her hand on his chest. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his cool skin sent a shiver down Revel's spine as she felt his heartbeat. Contrary to his unreadable expression, his heart was racing at the contact and eventually a small blush crept onto his face.

Orion's body looked like it had been sculpted by all the Gods in a combined effort, however his heart was what gained all of Revel's attention. "Your heart is quite honest in it's intentions" she whispered, Orion blushed further as she leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips.

He smiled and lost all composure as his attempts at a response turned into stuttered amalgamations of thanks and praises. Soon, he calmed down enough to ask, "Is this what love feels like?" The question was born from both curiosity and longing, if this was love, he wanted more of it. Revel let out a light laugh as she stared at him once more.

"If this isn't love, I don't know what is."